Photography Tip # 9: Pay attention to the light

Almost every experienced photographer can tell you that if you don't pay attention to the light, your photographic experience is likely to be miserable. This is because without light, photography is impossible. In fact, the word photography literally means "light writing" or "light painting".

One of the biggest obstacles to people is to understand that light has both a quality and quantity aspect to it. It also has a direction. In order to progress in your quest to improve as a photographer, you need to understand these things. Let's break them down a little more:

Quantity: This is probably the easiest for people to understand. The more light you have, the easier it is for you and your camera to get a proper exposure. However, sometimes too much light can work against you, depending on the kind of shot you are looking at getting. For instance, a nice creamy blur in a waterfall is very difficult to achieve if you are working with lots of light, because of the risks of the exposure being too bright. It is easy to realize that pictures taken in a dark setting can be complicated and sometimes require light from other ambient sources such as lamps, flashes, etc. We will deal more specifically with tips on handling these situations in future posts.

Quality: This attribute of light is sometimes referred to as temperature or color. Light takes on a different color depending on its source and the time of day. For instance, the sunlight during a sunrise has a more pink or golden color to it, while light during a sunset will typically be more orange or red. Incandescent lights in a home normally give off a yellowish hue, while fluorescent lights can have a green or blueish tint. Back to the time of day, the sunlight during high noon tends to be more harsh and direct, resulting in lots of shadows and contrast. Many photographers try to avoid light in these hours because of the less than flattering effects the light makes.

Direction: Its always important to know where the source of light is coming from when you take your shot. Ignoring such things will end up leaving you with unexpected silhouettes of people or harsh and distracting shadows which would draw attention away from your subject. The best way to actively practice with this concept is when taking photos outside, pay attention to where the sun is in the sky. By taking note of the giant light source in the sky and also your subject's location, you will be best prepared for how to set up your shot to look the best based on this knowledge.

This post is really meant to be an introductory tip on light. There have actually been whole books published on this subject alone. The next several posts in this blog will focus on the tips in using light to your advantage in taking various kinds of photos.